Loop Road closures could last up to 12 hours each day next week

Saturday

Jul 6, 2013 at 12:01 AM

TUSCALOOSA | Loop Road will be closed for almost 12 hours each day next week because of construction work, according City Hall.

By Jason MortonStaff Writer

TUSCALOOSA | Loop Road will be closed for almost 12 hours each day next week because of construction work, according City Hall.Starting Monday, Loop Road between Winters Drive and Woodland Road will be closed to through-traffic from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Also on Monday, the stretch between Beech Hills Drive and Winters Drive will be reduced to one lane.The closures will remain in place until Friday to allow DRM Utilities to perform work related to the $2.1 million improvement project.The Tuscaloosa Department of Transportation said the roadway will be reopened to traffi c each night but that no traffic will be allowed to pass through the blocked area during the work hours. Officials said residents living within this area will be accommodated on an as-needed basis, but traffic passing through must detour around the project.Residents living on Winters Drive and in Williamsburg East Apartments are asked to enter and exit from the Hargrove Road end of the project, while Veterans Memorial Parkway or Woodland Road are offered as access to the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center or the Leroy McAbee Sr. Activity Center.Officials said that additional road closures will follow on an as-needed basis until the project's completion, which is anticipated to be in November. A map showing the current road closure location can be found online at http://goo.gl/maps/gCdDB.The link will not change, officials said, but the map will be updated to reflect the current road closure location.These closures are related to the water and sewer infrastructure work that are part of the Loop Road Phase III Improvements Project, which will widen Loop Road from Fairmont Drive to Woodland Road, smooth some of the curves along that stretch and add a sidewalk to the road's south side.Also part of the project is the addition of an underground pipe network and other upgrades to improve stormwater drainage, which this section of the road now lacks.